Panchkula TT tournament retains National-ranking status

The National-ranking table tennis tournament at Panchkula starting on Tuesday has been retained as an official National-ranking event by the ad hoc committee constituted to administer the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), even as the committee stripped the ranking status of the remaining two proposed tournaments at Phagwara and Dehradun.

In an email to TTFI president Meghna Ahlawat and secretary-general Kamlesh Mehta on October 1, the committee said the decision on Panchkula was taken after weighing the interests of the players.

The tournament, scheduled to be held from October 6 to 13 on Ahlawat’s home turf, plunged into uncertainty after the committee, in an earlier communication, had said that TTFI-run events would not be recognised as ranking tournaments until a comprehensive review of the domestic structure was completed.

The latest communication, however, makes an exception for Panchkula.

“The paramount priority of the ad hoc committee remains the protection and welfare of the athletes,” the committee said.

It added that, given the proximity of the tournament and the severe hardship a cancellation would cause players, coaches and organisers, it had decided to retain Panchkula’s official National-ranking status.

M.P. Singh, secretary of Haryana Table Tennis Association, confirmed the development and added that the HTTA will ensure the event will be “a grand success”.

There was no such reprieve for the other two tournaments announced earlier. The committee made it clear that the proposed events in Uttarakhand (October 31 to November 7, Dehradun) and Punjab (November 14 to 21, Phagwara) would not be recognised as National-ranking tournaments. It said their conduct and official ranking status would “remain suspended until a comprehensive review of the domestic structure was completed”.

The committee also reiterated that it was drawing up a fresh National-ranking calendar in consultation with State associations, with the objective of ensuring a fair, transparent and geographically balanced allocation of the remaining ranking events.